NM's Lousy Economy in Graphs

So just how stagnant and lousy has New Mexico's economy been in the past 10 years?

Really bad. So bad that we have yet to recover all the jobs we lost during the recession. In fact, we're still 10,000 jobs short of our jobs peak in February of 2008. But nothing tells a story like pictures, so that's what you'll get in this post.

These are all graphs from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and they cover the period from 2008 through this March. The graphs show the actual number of jobs in the state's main industry sectors.

Note that only two industry sectors - Leisure and Hospitality and Education and Health Services - have more jobs now than they did in 2008.

So here we go:

Figure 1. (Above) Total jobs in the state. Peak Jobs: 849,900 in February 2008. Jobs now: 839,400

Figure 2. (Above) Mining and Oil and Gas. While this sector quickly regained the jobs it lost during the recession, the oil crash of 2014 decimated it, and it has yet to recover.

Figure 3. (Above) Construction. This sector really got clobbered. Peak jobs: 59,600 in July 2006. Jobs now: 48,300.

Figure 4. (Above) Manufacturing. This sector has been losing jobs for two decades. Peak jobs: 43,400 in November 1997. Jobs today: 27,300.

Figure 5. (Above) Trade, Transportation & Utilities. Peak: 147,200 in February 2008. Now: 137,900.

Figure 6. (Above) Information. Peak: 17,400 in June of 2006. Now: 11,300.

Figure 7. (Above) Financial Activities. Peak: 35,400 in March 2007. Now: 34,900.

Figure 8. (Above) Professional and Business Services. This includes architects, lawyers, engineers and other high-paying professions. In fact, the sector is one of the highest paying in the economy. Peak: 109,000 in August 2008. Now: 106,500.

Figure 9. (Above) Education & Health Services. This sector includes home health care and other low-paid workers. It grew during the recession and is only now starting to slow down. Jobs in January 2008: 112,700. Now: 139,100.

Figure 10. (Above) Leisure & Hospitality. The lowest paying sector of the economy has grown the fastest. Jan 2008:87,700. Now: 97,800.

Figure 11. (Above) Other Services. Peak: 30,300 in November 2008. Now: 28,700.

Figure 12. (Above) Government. Peak: 203,600 in May 2010. Now: 187,300.